Sustainable recovery for digital entrepreneurs with shared resources: enablers, challenges and solutions

Abstract

Purpose The purpose of this study is to identify important criteria for sustainable recovery of digital entrepreneurship from distress situation using shared resources. During pandemic disruption, the importance of sharing economy in managing business efficiency is reflected through this research. Design/methodology/approach The present study advances the knowledge on shared resources in business by integrating case study approach with multi criteria decision-making (MCDM) model. A fuzzy analytic hierarchy process approach is adopted to compute criteria weights, and a fuzzy technique for order performance by similarity to ideal solution (TOPSIS) technique is used to rank the sharing economy entrepreneurial ventures during COVID-19 pandemic in the context of emerging economy. Findings The present study identified five most important enablers (technological innovation, technology expertise, convergence of virtual and physical spaces, collaboration rather than competition, and benefits to underserved groups through transparency) for sustainable recovery of sharing economy ventures in emerging economy. For example, the study highlights online tutoring through shared intellect as the most sought after sharing economy venture during pandemic disruption, which fulfills the identified enablers. Practical implications The proposed framework provides an accurate decision support tool to rank the various identified potential enablers of sharing economy during disruptions. Further, the approach is practically relevant to sharing economy entrepreneurs in selecting the best approach to recover sustainability during pandemic. Originality/value The study is unique in addressing the need of sustainability for digital ventures via sharing economy approach in emerging economy (India). To develop a conceptual framework, the present study incorporates a case based approach together with the hybrid MCDM model. Further, the extant literature on disruptions is enhanced by prioritizing the enablers for sharing economy during pandemic.

Digital Entrepreneurship and Sustainability: The State of the Art and Research Agenda

“…The development and use of digital technologies create new opportunities for entrepreneurs (Fernandes et al 2022), enabling new businesses' development and business improvement that ensure economic, environmental, and social sustainability (Baran and Berkowicz 2021;George et al 2021;Gregori and Holzmann 2020;Jha et al 2022;Tim et al 2021;Tohănean et al 2020). That is, these technologies support digitization, digitalization, and digital transformation, which breaks with the past and leads to new sustainable growth business models (Gavrila and Ancillo 2022).…”

“…Digital technologies in business activities not only bring better use of scarce resources, but also provide opportunities for sustainable innovations. In other words, the integration of digital technologies with entrepreneurship results in sustainable entrepreneurship and in the development of innovative business models (Gössling and Hall 2019;Gregori and Holzmann 2020;Jha et al 2022), supporting the transition from the linear economy to a circular economy (Manea et al 2021).…”

“…In this context, much of the literature relates the sharing economy, which is increasingly being replaced by the collaborative economy, to the sustainability and SDGs (Gössling and Hall 2019), stressing its role in employment generation and dematerialization, as well as in enabling the use of underutilized and redundant resources and a more efficient utilization (e.g., reduction in water and energy use) (Gössling and Hall 2019;Jha et al 2022). "At its core, the sharing economy is about sharing of idle assets, usually via tech platforms, in ways that produce economic, environmental, social and practical benefits" (Jha et al 2022, p. 518).…”

“…Moreover, the steady advances of digital technologies (e.g., internet of things, artificial intelligence, and big data) have created room for new digital startups. DE, built on the existence or development of the digital ecosystem, has the potential to promote sustainable business (George et al 2021;Jha et al 2022;Tim et al 2021;Tohănean et al 2020) from the economic, environmental, and social points of view.…”

Guest editorial

“…The second article explored 13 critical sustainable recovery measures for transportation systems and found that efficient traffic management, sustainability-focused policies, sensitization of stakeholders, financial support and adoption of 4 R practices are important for a sustainable recovery in freight transportation systems (Dwivedi et al , 2021). The third article analyzed enablers, challenges and solutions for sustainable recovery for green entrepreneurs and found that technological innovation, technology expertise, convergence of virtual and physical spaces, collaboration rather than competition and benefits to underserved groups through transparency are the most critical enablers for sustainable recovery (Jha et al , 2021). The fourth article discussed the impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on micro, small and medium enterprises.…”